Geothermal Resource Under Threat

In recent years it has become obvious that the geothermal resource is unable to meet the increasing demands being placed on it by private and commercial bores.  These over-demands are having adverse effects particularly on the geothermal surface features and the potentials of the field reservoir itself.

Scientific assessment has verified that the hot geothermal water provided by the Rotorua field is limited and controls on allocation are necessary to sustain the field aquifer water canal.  New developments are constantly demanding to alter existing geothermal features or add to the list of bore users. 

Existing developments request to make 'improvements' which involve the altering and destruction of geothermal surface features.  Activities, which have been carried out for many years, are now being recognised as damaging. For example, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has extracted around 15m3 mud from the boiling mud pool known as Tianakore located within the Arikikapakapa golf course every ten years. The mud, which except for being heated is identical to mud found elsewhere in the region, is used in their balneological treatment practices. However, the extraction process damages the mud cones and the geothermal vegetation and reduces the mud in the pool with each extraction. The hospital has been granted one final extraction permit with some very strict conditions.